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World emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide increased three times faster after 2000 than in the 1990s, putting them at the high end of a range of forecasts by an international climate change panel, scientists report.

Australian researcher Professor Andy Pitman, from the University of New South Wales, says that when the IPCC projected carbon emissions in the 1990s, it was described as a purveyor of 'doom and gloom'.

"This study, quite frankly, scares those of us who hoped that the IPCC was wrong," he says.

The study found that acceleration of carbon emissions was biggest in developing nations with booming economies such as China, where the rise reflects the growth in per capita gross domestic product, the study says.

Developing nations contribute about 40% of total emissions, but they were responsible for a large majority of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions between 2000 and 2004, the study says.

In 2004, nearly three-quarters of the growth in emissions arose from the world's developing and least developed economies, which make up 80% of the global population.

Developed nations, including the former Soviet Union, contributed some 60% to the total emissions, the study says.

The world's wealthiest nations account for 77% of total emissions since the industrial revolution.

Raupach says that Australia, with 0.32% of the global population, contributes 1.43% of the world's carbon emissions.